In the new Transformers movie, one of the endless impossible-to-follow chase scenes takes place in Washington DC. However, Illinois highway signs are clearly visible in the scene. You'd think with all the money spent on special effects, the filmmakers could show enough respect for the audience to at least digitally replace the signs. Does director Michael Bay assume we are so geographically illiterate that no one will really notice? What next, a Los Angeles chase scene with the Statue of Liberty in the background? Actually, we shouldn't be surprised. In the last Transformers movie, Michael Bay completely removed Israel from the map. (More on that tomorrow.) Much thanks to Duane Dudek, who pointed out Bay's geographic disrespect.

4 comments:

Does director Michael Bay assume we are so geographically illiterate that no one will really notice?This is a trick question, right? Half of this country probably thinks that Illinois is a city in the state of Dallas.

Before the movie even gets to Chicago, they make no effort of separate Chicago from Washington DC. The highway sign that says Aurora was a dead giveaway, and is clearly something that could have been replaced with a sign with a Maryland or Virginia sounding city.

And if people aren't familiar enough either cities' landmarks to recognize, they should at least know DC doesn't have skyscrapers!

Even funnier is that the highway it was filmed on was not even 88. It was labeled as I-88 but it looked much more like Route 55 southwest of the city near Midway Airport. 88 doesn't have a bend in the road like what they show in the film and none of those buildings exist either. 88 is a straight-shot route.

I can't confirm this without watching it again, but I'm sitting at about 95% sure.

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